Yahoo! enters the social networking arena

Yahoo! has finally stepped into the shoes of social networking websites and has launched its own exclusive social network which is known as the Yahoo! Mash.

Modules are basically the widgets you can add to pimp out your page. Yahoo’s modules include Flickr RSS, Ego Boost, Common Friends, MyMoshLog2, Blog Module, Asteroids, Astrology, PimpMyPet, Hover, Kaleidescope, Guestbook, and My Stuff. The modules can be loaded onto your profile page and moved around using drag-and-drop

The profile page gives you a wide array of options to play with and edit like - your photo, friend list, tags, about me, modules (widgets), Blurts (status messages) and a guestbook.

Wiki-friends is where users are encouraged to edit each other’s pages and create new pages for friends. Every time you visit your profile page, you will see new modules which your friends loaded for you.

Blurt is a Yahoo! Mash Module which will let you add announcements to your Profile page. The My Stuff module is a very good and handy module that will allow you to interact with your friends. You paste HTML snippets there which includes Flash Games, YouTube videos and other miscellaneous interactive content. Tags module is used to tag your profile with the most relevant keywords and The Mash Pet is a funny new way to express your mood to others who visit your profile.

Pulse is a feature which takes you to a page which compiles updates and blurts from all your friends. Whether they added a new friend or added a new module… it’s all reported here.

Overall, Mash is Yahoo’s latest attempt at social networking and still needs some work. It’s currently in BETA. It will surely get a lot of early adopters and members purely based on it’s Yahoo! brand and existing Yahoo loyalists will like the idea of their own network to hang out in.

Keep an eye on the official Yahoo! Mash Blog which will enlist the updates and will inform you about the latest feature and system updates.